Cybersecurity

Trump Cancels Cybersecurity-Focused AI Executive Order Hours Before Signing

'We're leading China, we're leading everybody,' Trump said, 'and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that lead.'

Georgina Mackie

May 21, 2026 — 2 min read

Photo of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, May 21, 2026, by Jacquelyn Martin/AP.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2026 – A planned executive order on artificial intelligence was postponed Thursday hours before a scheduled White House signing ceremony.

The president said parts of the proposal could slow innovation and undermine the United States' competitive advantage in the global AI race, citing concerns that additional oversight could become a "blocker" at a time when AI is generating investment and jobs. "I didn't like certain aspects of it, I postponed it," President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday morning at the White House.

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